Going to school in Buffalo means realizing that you are shockingly close to an amazing city—and I am not talking about Buffalo itself. A three-hour drive with a slightly nerve-racking trip over the Canadian border and you will find yourself in Toronto! However, just like every big city, everything is expensive, and gas prices are horrifying right now. But that does not exclude a student from being able to afford it, so here are some tips from one broke student to another.
Get a bus ticket. Gas is way too expensive currently, with my whopping $4.50 per gallon, and a bus ticket from Buffalo to Toronto is twenty dollars. It saves you the seventy dollar tank fill-up and the stress of driving on the QEW highway (a roadway that is quite literally my biggest enemy). The bus is super easy, and while getting across the border can take a minute, it goes fairly quick.
Charge your phone!! I cannot emphasize this enough. It may seem obvious, but that did not stop me and my best friend from coming back to the States with 3% on our battery. It worked out for us in the end, since we had our digital cameras and a fairly good sense of direction, but it does cause some stress of not knowing whether you will be able to pull up your bus ticket. For us, it led to not a single picture on our Apple cameras, trying to find our way back to the bus station with no GPS, and asking a Buffalo security guard for the results of the Sabres game because we could not look it up.
Not really a budget tip, but on that same thread, try to stay off your phone. For us, it was glancing at the map and turning it off. While this was because we were trying to save battery, it led to us noticing a lot of things that we probably would have missed otherwise (we actually ended up chatting to a biker at a red light–something that we could not have done if we were too busy looking at Google Maps).
Onto the actual places you should go. While many places in the city cost money to experience, and many restaurants and cafes are far too pricey, there are also so many wonderful places that do not break the bank.
1.) Allen Gardens: A free botanical garden that is open to the public. It is absolutely beautiful and somewhere I would highly recommend to those who love plants.
2.) The Great Library: A gorgeous library that reminded me very strongly of Oxford. It is open to the public for free, but it was a little hard to find your way into. It is located inside Osgoode Hall, you can find your way inside from Queen St. W. (Do not worry, you are not trespassing). Just be sure to enter through the Law Society entrance, as my friend and I walked into a courthouse—oops.
3.) St. Lawrence Market: If you are looking for somewhere to eat, go here! You can find lunch for under ten USD, and the environment is great. If you have ever been to Philly’s Reading Market, this is very similar.
4.) Kensington Market: The best place to shop in Toronto. It is quite the walk from the city, it took us an hour to walk from St. Lawrence Market, but it is so worth it. If you are sick of shopping corporate, this is a refreshing change, and nothing is inordinately priced. I bought a scarf, a belt, a ring, and a hat for a grand total of under forty-five CAD, which is only about thirty-two USD. This is an eccentric market that is so different from the rest of the city, and something I would make sure to hit!
5.) Little Italy: While it contained shockingly few actual Italian places, it was home to a few wonderful secondhand bookstores. With ceiling to floor books for a good price, you can trust that this English major walked away with a couple.
6.) Café 23: Okay, this one is a little more expensive, but I just have to recommend it. As a coffee shop connoisseur, this is probably my favorite café I have ever been to. I got a cinnamon roll and a matcha for thirteen USD, which is not too crazy, and it is an absolutely beautiful place.
So, from one college student to another, enjoy your trip! Toronto is an incredible city with so much to explore (just remember to not root for the Leafs).